Introduction:
The 2.5 Urban: Chroma Art Film Festival is a vibrant celebration of innovative visual storytelling and immersive art forms that connect urban life and contemporary culture. Focused on showcasing experimental works that push the boundaries of traditional filmmaking, the festival highlights a diverse lineup of artists whose creations span digital media, video art, installations, and mixed-media performances. Set against an urban backdrop, 2.5 Urban: Chroma Art Film invites audiences to experience powerful narratives, dynamic visuals, and thought-provoking themes that challenge perceptions of city life, human connection, and the environment.
Artist Statement:
Alette Simmons-Jiménez’s work is deeply rooted in the interconnections between humanity and nature. Through a diverse range of media—mixed media painting, collage, photography, poetry, text, sculptural assemblage, installation, video projections, and light—she explores themes of identity, transience, and belonging. Her unique perspective was shaped by a nomadic upbringing as part of a military family, moving across borders both in the U.S. and internationally. By age 20, she had lived in 16 different homes, each experience adding to the complex tapestry of her identity and artistic vision.
Her installations are immersive environments, from intimate constructions to large-scale experiential spaces that invite viewers to engage all senses. Visitors are encouraged to navigate these spaces freely, discovering new layers and interpretations as they interact with the work. Through this process, Simmons-Jiménez guides audiences on a journey through landscapes that are both tangible and imagined.
Bio: Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Simmons-Jiménez earned her BFA from Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. She launched her studio practice in the Dominican Republic and is now based in Miami. Her work has been showcased internationally across museums, galleries, and media festivals and includes collaborations with designers and architects to produce large-scale public and private commissions.
Simmons-Jiménez has had numerous solo exhibitions, including at No Vacancy Miami Beach (2023), the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach (2022), Miami Design District (2020), and the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo (1997). Her group exhibitions span notable institutions such as Centro León in the Dominican Republic (2024), 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville, KY (2015), and the Boca Raton Museum of Art (2014). She was the first artist to exhibit video installation art in the Dominican Republic, where she received first prize in video at the XVIII Biennial (1992).
Among her numerous awards are the Miami Individual Artist Grant (2024, 2023), the Knight Arts Challenge Grant (2008), and a Florida State Artist Enhancement Grant (2006). She also recently received an Oolite Arts Home & Away Grant, completing a residency at MASS MoCA (2024). Her other residencies include Ifitry in Morocco (2019) and Es Baluard Museum of Contemporary Art in Mallorca (2017). Recent commissions by Oolite Arts include work for the Walgreens Windows Project on Miami Beach (2024) and a three-month solo exhibition at Miami International Airport (2023).
A committed advocate for community engagement, Simmons-Jiménez founded the artist-run collective Artformz Alternative (2004–2011), supporting over 150 artists and fostering connections between artists and the public. She also served on the Board of ArtTable, Inc., as Florida Chapter Chair and Programming Director. As the host and producer of Art & Company Podcast (2018–present), she continues to spotlight and document South Florida’s burgeoning art scene.